Mars 2062
by Kyralih
Summary: Oneshot*; GC Writing Contest, theme: Reincarnations of Serenity and Endymion. Mars, 2062: Aries Colony of Mars. Pandora Arcene is late to her friend Raven's Talent Show performance! Racing to get there before the doors close, she (literally) runs into a tall and stupidly-handsome new face, fresh from Earth - the one place she's always wanted to see...


**AN:** IDK why this wasn't up here yet? This was a longer one-shot that would be like idk a prologue to a longer work? ANYWAY what if instead of reincarnating on Earth in the 70's, what if the senshi reincarnated in the late 2040's... _when Earth has started colonizing Mars?_ :O _and the Dark Kingdom awakens on Earth and :O!_ Anyway SPACE COLONY GOOOO

...

_2062_

Blood pounded against her skull and she took a long, shallow breath, but it was too late - discomfort had set in. Releasing her breath in a gusty, groaning sigh, she flipped over onto her stomach, the picture across from her going right-side-up just as it changed to the next landscape: a beautiful waterfall scene from some unknown lush forest, with beautiful blue skies and puffy white clouds. Wistfully, she scooted back on her bed and put her chin in the palm of her hands, watching dreamily as the water fell over the cliff edge and crashed upon the rocks below. Glimmers of multi-colored light flashed as a bird flitted from tree to leafy tree, and she reached for the remote to turn on the sound, only for her com to blip at her. She frowned, blue eyes on the device and back to the serene image, letting the device sound off for a few moments as she considered just letting it go and pretend she was doing something important, but then she saw the name of the caller flashing at her wrist and extended her arm to grab the earbud and fit it into place, pulling herself onto her knees so she could speak properly.

"Hi Raven!" she greeted cheerfully, lifting her finger over the earbud -

"You forgot, didn't you?" the deadpan voice accused.

She decided _not_ to initiate a video convo. "Forgot? What do you mean?" she laughed nervously, flipping her wrist around to take a look at her watch again, tapping the screen to change functions to _calendar_ and _schedule_ and '_important notes!'_ and finding, in the latter category, pinned with a yellow star, a note that sent her flying off of her bed and towards her closet for her jacket and boots.

"I mean you _forgot_, rockhead! You're going to be late – don't bother coming!"

"_Raven!_" she cried, kicking on her last boot as she flung her door open and ran up the stairs to the living pod, past her mother, who looked up from a botany experiment just as the front door slammed shut behind her. "_Raven I'm almost there! Hahaha, see I was kidding!_" she implored, taking heart that she hadn't been hung up on yet as she dashed around a corner, past a neighbor with their arms filled with green goods, and down the long corridor, back towards the public spaces.

"Don't lie to me!" Raven exclaimed, then quieted, her voice a whisper in her ear, "Listen, the doors close in _five minutes_ – I've got to go. Don't be late or I'll stop covering for you in the morning." The line went silent just after, so Raven never heard her pitiful whine of a response.

She hated running - she hated the entire _experience_ of running – and yet she was _always running!_ Up a ramp and finally out of the "neighbourhood", into the wider corridors of the various stores and shopping and a few of the citizen-scientist labs – the performance dome wasn't that far, she might actually make it! With a fresh wave of determination, she flew around another corner, her long hair almost sailing out behind her with how sharp she took it, and ran straight into someone. Her nose hit something hard and she and her assailant jolted; hands wrapped around her shoulders in an attempt to stop both of them before they fell over backwards completely, both staggering, fighting for balance. Her wordless exclamation of something-like-"Oh!"-meets-something-like-"Ah!" was drowned by their – er, _his_ – exclamation of "Hey!" but they managed to stop before it was too late.

She disengaged, holding up both hands in a surrendering move as "Sorry!" burst from her lips, but with nose pounding she doubled over, putting her hand to her face to see if it was bleeding, unable to help herself, "What are you doing wearing an EXC indoors anyway?!"

"I – " he sounded close, and flustered – had he bent over to see if she was okay? That was kinda sweet – "Me?! What are you doing tearing around corners?!" he shot back, _much less sweet_.

"None of your business!" she snapped at him, pulling back and inspecting her hand. No blood. She straightened, her alarm _finally_ going off on her watch – which meant Raven's event was _starting_ – and groaned. "I'm late!" she exclaimed, dancing out from in front of him, "Listen, buddy, no blood, no foul!" and kicked off again –

Only to hear heavy footfalls following her. "'Listen, _Buddy_'?!" he called, easily catching her, "'_No blood, no foul'_?! I didn't hear an apology in _any_ of that!"

They dashed up a short staircase, heading for the tunnel ahead, "You were the one walking on the wrong side of the hallway!" she returned heatedly, glancing over and _immediately_ regretting it. He was cute. Too cute. Black-hair-and-blue-eyes-perfect-face cute. She immediately looked away, focusing on the path ahead. _She would not let her resolve weaken! Her righteous indignation fueled her sprint!_ The doors were so close!

"You think this is _my_ fault?!" he questioned incredulously, his deep voice lilting up in disbelief towards the end, "You're running at break-neck speed around corners – what if I had been some poor old lady you knocked over, huh?"

"Then the old lady would've been on the wrong side of the hallway!" she insisted, her voice rising. She ignored the port-hole windows in favor of rushing to the entrance, skidding to a stop so she could pull open the large glass doors – to her surprise, he actually helped her – and then squeezed through and ran for the winding staircase. Her lungs burned, her legs ached, all of the weariness coming on at once as she jogged painfully up the stairs, whining as she went; she reached the landing she needed and loped to the door, huffing and puffing painfully towards the closed barrier. She was so close. _So close_. She leaned up against it and softly pounded, barely able to make her arms move; maybe they'd let her in. Maybe they weren't as strict as Raven had led her to believe. Maybe –

The door beside her opened slightly and she could have _cried_ with relief. Before they could change their mind she stuck the toe of her boot in the door and offered the girl a tired smile, "Sorry I'm late!" she wheezed. The girl – an usher? – put her finger to her lips and opened the door a little wider to let her in, then pointed to a string of empty seats on the far end near the back. She nodded and dragged herself over, the thought of a _chair_ overpowering any notion of looking for a seat closer to the front or the aisle. With a sigh she settled into the plush audience chair, her eyes closing finally relaxing... until someone took the seat right next to her. She sat up straight, thinking it could be an organizer – _or worse, a professor_ – there to chastise her, but instead it was _him_. She narrowed her gaze at him, then looked forward, crossing her arms as she slouched in the seat. "_You didn't have to follow me in,"_ she whispered.

He paid it no attention. "_So what is this?_" he whispered instead, looking forward curiously, far less winded than she was – which was _unfair_, but then she had run farther and he looked like he was fresh out of some sort of training program or something that probably had him running for hours. No one else would wear an EXC suit this far in. She looked over again, wondering if it had any dirt still on it, and couldn't help but notice the strong angle of his jaw, or his straight nose, high cheekbones, long fingers… _No!_ He was definitely annoying and she was _not_ attracted to that!

"_Talent show for the summer festival_," she replied anyway, despite herself. He surprised her then by looking over, but while his dark blue eyes looked to her at first, they were continually pulled behind her, through the thick glass between them and the pale-tinted ice-wall that separated them from the Martian landscape. The way his eyes moved, taking it all in, softened the stubborn line of her lips; his actions were so honest, and yet he attempted to cover them, like he wasn't enthralled by what he saw. It was endearing. Well, _almost_ endearing – she certainly wasn't falling for it. Putting on her cheekiest expression, she asked, "_You're new, aren't you?_"

He looked guilty, seeming to sink in his seat a little, and she almost regretted the tease. It wasn't even a tease anyway, right? Just the truth, but he seemed self-conscious about it and it made her feel weird. He took a breath to speak when someone turned around and _shh_'d them loudly; she blushed, he seemed to bite his tongue, and they both huddled farther into their seats as a younger kid sat down to their cello and began to play. While they didn't exchange a single word for the remainder of the show, she felt like she had gotten to know him a little, the way his breathing matched the measures of the music, his foot or fingers tapping out the beat to the up-tempo numbers; they both laughed at the same things when a would-be comedian tried out their material – even the _less than mature_ punch-lines that had her in stiches seemed to get him, too.

When Raven came on stage to sing, she was up on her feet cheering her on from the back row, and when she finished and took a bow, she made a point of yelling out, "That's my friend Raven! She wrote the lyrics _and_ composed the music!" loud enough to make Raven bow a second time with the fresh wave of applause (and a bit of laughter at the enthusiasm). The show didn't have too much longer after that; a few more musical routines, another comedy act – this one wasn't very good, but she laughed at the jokes to make the performer feel better – a dance routine or two, and finally all performers were brought on the stage to sing an anthem to call it a night. The audience stood and sang along to the old tune; her "friend" stood respectfully, but didn't sing. As the song ended and everyone applauded again, she made to make her way to find Raven at the front of the auditorium before the rush of people, but found herself almost trapped, the EXC suit guy with those intense blue eyes was staring out the window again, blocking the quicker route down the row to the aisle. She looked over her shoulder and saw what he was staring at – the sunset.

"Different from Earth's, isn't it?" she asked quietly as the crowd worked their way out, leaving the two of them isolated, like an island in the sea. She turned to look at it with him, seeing what he saw, but comparing it to the image window back in her room. "The colors are swapped, right? On Earth the sunset is red and orange, instead of blue…" she trailed off; 'red and orange' didn't fit the description at _all_. Sunsets on Earth were _filled_ with color and light, all pinks and oranges and yellows and reds, with dark purple or light orange clouds, fading out like a rainbow from the light blue sky; what she would give to see one of those in person –

"It's beautiful," he said openly, and her reverie broke around those simple, heartfelt words.

She looked at the sunset again, how the butterscotch sky faded to reddish-pink, then then blue around what was left of the sun, almost purple at the horizon today. Utopia Planatia's red sand looked almost brown, the darker rocks were pockets of darkness spotting the otherwise calm sand-sea; it was pretty, sure, but it was also _cold_, whereas Earth's sunset was like the embodiment of warmth. But then, through the blue glow, she saw two bright stars come shining out of the darkness, and smiled. One was bright yellow, the other deep blue: Earth was out tonight. If they waited for the sun to completely set, they might even be able to see Earth's Moon. She smiled at the thought, staring at the pale blue dot in space, imagining the planet's surface, the sights, the sounds, the freedom of being able to walk on ground that didn't always crunch under your feet, to be surrounded by air that wouldn't suffocate you, to roam without an environmental suit. While she couldn't be there, the idea of Earth was sometimes enough. "Yeah, I guess."

"So I see you made it, Pandora," a somewhat cocky voice teased. She turned and grinned when she saw Raven standing there, all sophisticated with her long black hair pinned stylishly into place, wearing a red and black performance dress that looked _amazing_ on her – she was about to pose dramatically to accept the veiled praise when Raven's purple eyes fell on – well, _whoever_ he was – and her brows raised mischievously, "And you brought a _date_?"

She gasped, her jaw dropping, and immediately stepped away from the EXC-suit guy and exclaimed _forcefully_, "He is _not_ my date!" barely resisting the urge to point at him when she said it! "He's far too _annoying _to be my date!" she continued, feeling a little _too_ uncomfortable with the notion, her heart beating quickly due _only_ to the idea that she could be somehow connected to this guy in a romantic fashion – which would not, _could not_ ever happen!

He snickered, "Your name is _Pandora_?"

_Typical_. "See?!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms, "Far too annoying."

"Whatever you say," Raven shrugged dismissively, and she _knew_ she wasn't going to live this down anytime soon. "So, Not-Pandora's-Date, do you have a _name_ along with that Excursion Suit?" She loved how Raven could be so bold so effortlessly, and come off so cool doing it. Her confidence was practically legendary – she could do _anything_ she put her mind to and make it look easy; she admired her tremendously, even when she was making her life _challenging_.

"Aurelius Triston," he replied smoothly, barely ruffling at Raven's prod. She couldn't help the eye roll – _Aurelius_? How pretentious could you - "Like _Pandora_ is any better?" he stated flatly, calling her on thoughts and making her blush.

She crossed her arms and sniffed, "Conquered any nations recently?"

"Opened any _boxes_ recently?" he quickly rebutted.

"_Both_ of your names are unfortunate, can we move on?" Raven cut in quickly, folding her arms impatiently. Pandora backed down, pouting her lips and looking away from Aurelius – really though? _Aurelius_? – and nodded. A silent beat passed before Raven asked, "Why are you wearing that, anyway?" motioning, she guessed, to the excursion suit.

"I had just taken my first tour of the colony when I was nearly bowled over by this one; I hadn't made it back to my quarters yet to change," he explained, the '_this one_' designation _not_ lost on her. He apparently didn't know that the EXC suits were typically stored in lockers near the main airlock.

"He was walking on the wrong side of the—" she heatedly began in her defense, but Raven waved her off –

"That's typical of her; listen, have you eaten?" She pouted further at the 'typical' part, but the mention of food kept her interest. A quick glance caught him shaking his head no, and Raven continued on, saying the _best_ sentence: "Want to join us for dinner?" – _not that part, the next part –_ "My name's Raven and my parents had to go, but they left me their card; I was thinking of going to the Hall of Aries for some Italian." She _loved_ the Hall of Aries! It was so much nicer than the cafeteria! They make your food to order instead of going off of the menu schedule – whatever you want, exactly when you wanted it – _including_ desserts! It was usually reserved for birthdays and special occasions but Raven's father was a bigwig in the colony so _of _course he could go whenever he wanted! What was she going to order?! _Pasta_? Oooh, _a meatball sub?!_ Pizza?! Maybe they had breadsticks – oh and dessert! Ice cream or cake?! Ice cream _and_ cake?! There were so many options! But Aurelius hesitated – newbie _mistake_ – and Raven added, "Think of it as repayment for whatever she just put you through and a welcome to the Colony; I'm sure you've got questions that we could answer?"

"… Sure, actually," _Aurelius_ agreed – really though? That name. "That sounds nice."

Raven nodded crisply and led the way, "We'll stop by your quarters first so you can get out of that suit and freshen up; I know it's not as comfortable as some would lead you to believe."

[…..]

Half a bell later they were being seated at _Aries_ and the menus were delivered and she was pouring over the options as Raven was giving Aurelius a quick history of the base, and if he had heard it before he was being really polite in letting her retell it. Pandora remained quiet, studying her options – _not_ his interested expression – and was trying to decide between a side of rice or a side of macaroni and cheese, but was getting distracted by the little interested noises he was making. _Oh-Really-us_ – just _thinking_ his unusual name gave her a mental mouthful – he needed a nickname if he was going to continue hanging around. Lee, maybe? Lius? Auri? Maybe just his last name – that hadn't sounded nearly as weird: Triston. Almost normal, really. … but then he was a weirdo and weirdos deserved weird names –

"Can I take your order?" a familiar voice asked, and she jumped but was ready with her answer!

"I'd like the cheesy-fries appetizer with a personal pepperoni pizza and a side of macaroni and cheese!" she declared with a big smile. She ignored Raven's mixed look of repulsion and embarrassment – the waitress was an upperclassmen of theirs – and EXC-suit-guy's (he wasn't wearing his suit anymore, but anything was better than _Aurelius_ until she could pick out a nickname) look of confused curiosity and just waited, sipping on her _carbonated beverage_ – really though, _Aries_ was great! – as they made their _much more boring_ meal choices and the waitress left.

"So, what brings you to Aries Colony?" Raven asked, putting her elbows on the table and lacing her fingers together, resting her chin daintily as she watched him; menus out of hand and the possible mention of Earth coming up, Pandora payed attention to, though not so obviously: she looked at the murals rather than at him as he responded, but his response did draw her attention back occasionally.

For example, he didn't answer immediately, which was weird – usually people came right out with 'I was transferred' if they were military, or 'My application was accepted' if they had actually _wanted _to come to Mars, like if they were a scientist, but he looked almost uncomfortable with the question… almost like he didn't know how to answer it, unsure of what to say. "Transfer," he finally said.

"Military or Scientist?" Raven prompted, poised and cool and confident, but not letting the subject drop.

"Both, I guess," he replied uneasily.

"What's your field?" Raven continued; Pandora was getting a little curious at this point, wondering if her wild theories were anything like Raven's at this point. Maybe he was a _spy_, or maybe a replacement for somebody who didn't know they were going to be replaced?

"Physics," he said easily, "With some astrodynamics and aeronautics thrown in for good measure."

Both she and Raven nodded absently, "Pilot?"

"Pilot," he confirmed.

"Here to test the new plane, I presume?" Raven leaned back in her seat, the mystery gone now; one of the colony's primary experiments was designing a more efficient plane that could transfer not only cargo, but _people,_ between colonies across Mars. They were finishing the first prototype now, and while they had a good number of pilots within the colony, a few more had been periodically trickling in as the project neared completion. He was just one of them – probably the youngest they've seen come through yet, but still, just a pilot –

"New plane?" he repeated, and just like that, Raven was interested again.

"What brought you to Mars, then?" she inquired, leaning forward. Pandora often wondered what Raven _would_ choose to do with her future; part of her hoped she either became an investigative journalist or a detective with law enforcement – she'd be so good at it, and then _maybe_ she would be reassigned to Earth and she'd take her best-friend/trusty side-kick with her and let her in on all of the secrets she was finding out while bringing her along on a whirlwind adventure across Earth's seven continents –

"I was transferred," he answered, but it… didn't seem that simple? She couldn't pinpoint exactly _why_ that struck her as a little off, but maybe how long he took with admitting that earlier versus how easily he admitted it now, or how his shoulders sunk a little, almost like a shrug, or how he wasn't meeting their eyes but staring down that the complimentary bread – or what was left of it. Sadness tugged at her, looking at him.

"Was it your choice?" she asked quietly; he looked up, like he hadn't expected her to say anything, and those startling blue eyes caught her for a moment, until he abruptly looked away without a word.

Raven's voice was low, her body language changed drastically from interested to anything-but, looking at her red nails and brushing the polish absently, "Does it have anything to do with what's going on on Earth?" She had no idea what Raven was talking about – what was happening on Earth? Why hadn't Raven told her something was happening on Earth? Looking from Raven to EXC-Suit so quickly her pigtails hit the back of the plush booth with a _thunk_, she waited to see what he had to say before demanding answers from Raven, but he kept his mouth shut, looking away uncomfortably. "It is, isn't it?" Raven prompted, but he didn't say anything. She was about to say something when Raven finally got him to talk, asking, "How bad is it?"

At this point Pandora's head was jumping from one terrible conclusion to the next. Another World War, maybe, or more of an environmental breakdown that was forcing people who could leave to leave – what if that was what drove the plane project? – more transportation to all the Mars Colonies that were to come because of some catastrophic event on Earth. Could they even support themselves without the fresh supplies from Earth? How long had they been keeping this a secret from everyone? Did Raven know because her dad knew? What other changes were coming? What about planet Earth itself?

"It's getting bad," Aurelius replied softly, wrapping his hands around his coffee mug, catching her attention completely. As though he could feel their eyes on him, he eventually continued, "The attacks are becoming more frequent and more hostile all over the globe; their rhetoric is either catching on and spreading, or key people in power have been talked over to their side, or _converted_, or whatever they call it – either way, one day someone would be standing up against these people and the next they're all for this change, spewing the same hate-filled stuff as the others. The confirmed monster sightings have increased – there's a new one every day; sometimes it's taken down, other times it escapes and pops up elsewhere in another mob of unconscious people. The original reports of the knock-outs being caused by some fast-acting super-virus spread by the creatures is still widely accepted, despite survivors having no such indicator in their blood; it's saved more people, making them run at the first sight of these things, but still… it's not enough. It's like whatever is behind this is growing in power the more damage is caused, the more victims it takes. Local police and military have had some success, but the people doing the most good – the people who were actually responsible for survivors who _completely recovered_, are in hiding or keeping their identities a secret – it's a smart move, but it's hard to contact them because they refuse to take coms on the off chance their locations could be tracked. I don't blame them at all for keeping so quiet and off the grid, especially with how often people in power seem to flip flop on the issues, but if they shared what they were doing, told the right people _how_ they were defeating the enemy so quickly and effectively, this war could be going a very different way."

As he paused, her mind raced, trying to put together what he said and connect the dots to make a full picture, but what was standing out to her didn't make sense. Monsters? Crowds of people unconscious without any sort of viral tracer? Was he speaking in some sort of colloquial? Were "Monsters" the new buzz word for terrorists? Were they using a biological weapon, and _that_ was what was knocking people out? The people in power flip flopping – being 'converted' – did that just mean they had been bought? Her heart pounded uncomfortably, squeezing in her chest, her mind processing what he had said even as it remembered that serene scene from her picture window with the birds and the waterfall. Earth was in trouble, but it would survive, right? It had made it through three world wars and an entire era of people not caring about protecting the environment – it could survive this. … but would people be around to admire it afterwards?

She wanted to help – she wanted _nothing more_ than to help, to leave _right then_, go to Earth, and _do something_ to stop whatever was going on, but what could she do? She was still in secondary school. She wasn't making the best grades, she wasn't particularly inclined to science or mathematics – she couldn't help with figuring out what was going on, except, maybe, in a research assistant position, but there were bound to be _thousands_ of people researching the same thing. What could she do that would actually help?

"I was transferred off planet because some friends in high places learned something and wanted me as far away as possible," he stated sourly, then took a long drink.

"What did they find?" Raven prompted.

"I don't know. They were keeping quiet about it, and just as I was catching on that they were hiding something my transfer papers came in." He put his drink down and sat back in his seat, his hands in his lap as he looked away, his face in profile to her. His friends must have been trying to look out for him; she liked that he didn't seem to appreciate it. She glanced to Raven, a frown forming on her lips. She didn't like it, either.

"What about those other people," Raven said, ignoring her look if she had even noticed it, "the ones that are actually making a difference – the ones with the survivors that won't get in contact – who are they? What are they like? Who do they stand for?"

He shrugged again, almost dismissively, like talking about this was disheartening enough for him. "It's strange – _they're_ strange. They wear costumes, like super heroes from old comic books, and while they have never been directly filmed doing so, some survivors from incents they were involved in say they can use magic. My guess is they've created some insane technology they _should_ be sharing with others, but then again if it got into the wrong hands it'd be chaos." He paused, and in a small movement, shook his head. "They call themselves "Sailor Guardians" and claim to fight for "Love and Justice." In one account they vowed to protect the Earth; so far they've been doing that, I guess, but the other side is just wiping the floor with them with the sheer volume of independent attacks."

"Sailor Guardians," Raven repeated quietly, rolling the title around in her mouth.

_Sailor Guardians_. Magic, costumes, fighting this uprising without help… maybe _that's_ what she could do on Earth – maybe she and Raven could go there and figure out who these people are, and try to convince them to share what they knew. EXC-Suit didn't seem to enjoy his situation – maybe he could pilot them back there covertly. Maybe they could make a difference.

Maybe they could save Earth.

Their waitress returned with their food, breaking the tense atmosphere and forcing conversation back to less-clandestine topics, but she wouldn't forget.

[….]

My name is Pandora Arcene, your average teenage girl. I was born on the Lunar Station of Mare Serenitatis on Earth's Moon, but have lived here, in Aries Colony of the Utopia Planitia on Mars, my entire life. I go to school with Raven and other colonist kids, studying science and math, primarily. My father is a geologist and my mother is a botanist, but my dream is to return to Earth and see the world, or what's left of it.

The day Raven and I met Aurelius was the first day of the rest of our lives; after that, _everything_ changed. We soon came to find that the troubles on Earth had, for some reason, followed him to Mars, and we learned that the only way to stop it was for us to go to Earth and nip the problem at the bud. As it turned out, if we didn't, no one else could, because we had been granted strange powers and abilities that could transform us into Sailor Guardians and the three other Guardians on Earth needed our help to defeat the Dark Kingdom threat.

It's going to be hard. It's not something I really look forward to, but it's something I have to do. We need to work together to protect our Earth.


End file.
